EVIL to defend NEVER title against Aaron Wolf at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20

A new title match is official for Wrestle Kingdom 20.

Last month, it was announced that Olympic gold medalist Aaron Wolf would make his pro wrestling debut against EVIL at the Tokyo Dome on January 4. During NJPWâ€s Wrestle Kingdom 20 press conference on Monday, EVIL upped the ante. After Wolfâ€s opening comments, in which he vowed to spend the next two months preparing for his debut match, it was EVILâ€s turn to speak. But first he pulled out a can of spray paint and stained the NEVER Openweight belt gold, declaring that it was his gold medal and he was the only gold medalist in professional wrestling.Â

As the two began to argue about gold medals and respect, EVIL claimed that Wolf was scared going into his first match, and that he was going to put even more pressure on the debutante by putting the NEVER title on the line.

Wolf, who won a gold medal in judo at the 2020 Olympic games in Tokyo, signed with New Japan Pro Wrestling in June. He first made his presence known in NJPW at the King of Pro-Wrestling event in RyÅgoku on October 13. On that show, EVIL defeated Oleg Boltin to win the NEVER Openweight title. After the match, Boltin was attacked by EVILâ€s House of Torture comrades, including Dick Togo and Yujiro Takahashi. Wolf hit the ring and laid them out to make the save. EVIL then challenged Wolf to face him at Wrestle Kingdom 20 on January 4 in the Tokyo Dome.Â

NEVER is an acronym of the terms “New Bloodâ€, “Evolutionâ€, “Valiantlyâ€, “Eternalâ€, and “Radical.†The championship was originally meant to feature younger talent and outside wrestlers not signed to the promotion. EVIL is a four-time NEVER champion, having defended the title three times and spending over 220 days as champ. Tomohiro Ishii has won the belt a record six times, while five-time champion Shingo Takagi holds the records for most defenses (nine) and most total days as champion (530).

Here is the current card for WrestleKingdom 20:

NJPW WrestleKingdom 20 (January 4)

• IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Konosuke Takeshita vs. IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion Yota Tsuji in a winner takes all match
• Hiroshi Tanahashi retirement match, opponent yet to be named.
• EVIL vs. Aaron Wolf for NEVER Openweight title
• NJPW Strong Womenâ€s Champion Saya Kamitani vs. IWGP Womenâ€s Champion Syuri in a winner takes all match

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